


Saving Me

by OfEndlessWonder



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-17 00:42:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14176857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfEndlessWonder/pseuds/OfEndlessWonder
Summary: Supergirl falls from the sky, and the world falls out from underneath Cat’s feet.  Aka what happens when Cat and Kara are dating in secret and Kara gets badly hurt?





	Saving Me

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt 'I'm so happy you're alive'. 
> 
> Set at the start of season two - Kara's a reporter, but Mon-El never happened, and Cat never left.

Supergirl falls from the sky, and the world falls out from underneath Cat’s feet.

She’s in her office when it happens, pacing in-front of her desk in the middle of a meeting.

It’s nothing, at first – just one screen flickering with grainy cellphone footage of an alien involved in an altercation downtown – and Cat thinks nothing of it as she turns on her heel and continues her tirade.

A few moments later two screens show the flutter of a red cape as Supergirl arrives on the scene, and Cat thinks it’ll be business as usual – there’ll be a fight, the alien will be caught, and Supergirl will triumph, coming home to Cat later that evening, if a little battered and bruised.

Their relationship is still new, just a few weeks old, had happened shortly after Kara’s promotion to reporter when the power dynamics between them hadn’t been quite so extreme and neither of them had been able to ignore the simmering attraction between them for any longer.

It’s new, and no-one knows yet, save for Carter – they’d wanted some time to figure things out for themselves before telling other people – and Cat doesn’t think she’s ever been so happy.  

It’s hard, though, dating a superhero.

And not just because it keeps Kara so damn busy.

It’s more than that – it’s having to deal with the person you care about regularly putting themselves in danger, knowing that one day they might not come home, having to suffer through every kick and punch when the battles are caught on camera, and not knowing what the outcome will be.

Today, it isn’t business as usual.

Because Kara looks out of her depth, out there on those screens (on all of them now, the battle dragging on and capturing the attention of everyone in the office, Cat’s meeting abandoned as her employees gather in-front of the screens, watching with baited breath as the city’s hero takes a beating), her face bloodied and bruised, and when her opponent delivers another blow, it’s hard enough to knock her from the sky and send her crashing down to the street below.

The office is silent as everyone holds their breath, waiting for Supergirl to rise back into the air and finish things.

But she never does.

Cat watches as a figure dressed all in black darts into view on the screen, can see the tension in the woman’s shoulders and even though they’ve never officially met she recognises Alex Danvers as she dashes towards her fallen sister.

Alex is followed a moment later by several others before the screens go black, presumably due to DEO interference, and Cat feels sick because she knows they wouldn’t do that unless they had a damn good reason.

Cat forces herself to turn away, catches the eye of a very pale James Olsen and watches as he raises his phone to his ear with trembling fingers before disappearing from view. Cat is desperate to go after him, to find out what’s happening, but she knows she can’t, has to keep herself together especially now, with her office so crowded.

Instead, she takes a breath and snaps at them all to get back to work, even though she knows she won’t be getting anything done herself for the rest of the day, not until she knows that Kara’s okay.

She tries calling Kara’s phone, even as she knows it’s useless.

She calls and calls and calls, but no-one ever picks up.

She keeps an eye on the news coverage, too, in-case anyone had captured footage of Supergirl being taken away, or somehow, miraculously escaping unscathed.

Cat can barely believe her luck when, just a few hours later, Supergirl appears on-screen again, stopping a robbery downtown.

The office cheers at the sight of her, but Cat notices James, waiting for something at the printer with deep lines around his eyes and a dark expression on his face, barely even glance towards the screen, and something tells Cat that whoever it is, flying through the sky in red and blue, that it’s not the woman she’s falling in love with.

Her relief fades to panic, because the only reason to employ a Supergirl double to convince the city that she’s alive and well would be if the woman herself wasn’t going to be able to anytime in the foreseeable future.

The thought leaves her cold, and she calls Kara once more.

It goes straight to voicemail.

//

Later that day when she leaves the office, Cat tells her driver to take a detour.

She goes to Kara’s apartment building, rushes out of the car before it’s even fully stopped, all but runs inside and up the stairs, and is out of breath by the time she reaches Kara’s door.

She knocks, but no-one answers.

She waits a few minutes, and when there’s still no answer she reaches for her purse, grabs a rarely used bobby pin and does something she hasn’t done in a long, long time – she picks the lock.

It’s just as easy as she remembers, and she glances over her shoulder to check there’s no-one watching before she opens the door and slips inside.

It’s empty, and it looks like Kara left in a hurry that morning – there’s a coffee cup waiting to be washed by the sink, an unfolded pair of pyjamas lying on the floor next to an unmade bed, a notebook with a few hastily scrawled notes lying open on the sofa.

Cat almost expects Kara to come swooping through the window at any moment, imagines the confusion that would be on her face at finding Cat inside her home, the way she’d laugh in delight when she found out that Cat was an expert when it came to breaking and entering.

It makes her heart ache, and Cat wonders if she’ll ever see Kara again and chokes back a sob, tells herself to keep it together until she knows for sure how bad things are – vows to find out for herself in the morning.

She takes one last look around the apartment before she leaves, heading back to her own place and the welcome distraction that she knows Carter will provide.

//

Cat barely sleeps that night, gets to work almost an hour earlier than she normally would, and all but pounces on James Olsen when he walks through the door, summoning him into her office with a mere look.

“Everything alright?” He asks, looking wary, and Cat scrutinises him for a long moment, trying to gauge his emotions – he doesn’t look like he’s grieving, and Cat takes some small comfort in that, because it means that Kara must still be alive.

“How is she? Supergirl? After the fight yesterday?”

“Oh.” James looks surprised by the question, blinks a couple of times before he forces a smile. “Well, you saw her dealing with that robbery last night, she’s fine. That other fight just looked a lot worse than it actually was.” He’s lying, Cat can tell, but she doesn’t call him out on it, lets him think she’s reassured.

“Glad to hear it.” Her smile is tight, and she wonders if he notices. “Do you know what time Kara will be in today? I need to talk to her about something.” She asks because she expects him to tell her that Kara’s called in sick, but she doesn’t get the answer she’s expecting.

“I’m pretty sure she’s already in her not-so-secret office.” Cat’s heart leaps, but she tries not to show it, simply dismisses James with a nod and waits for him to leave before she makes a beeline for Kara’s office.

Logically, she knows that she’s not going to find what she wants there – Kara would have never ignored her calls if there was nothing wrong – but she can’t stop the bloom of hope that springs up in her chest.

Her heart stutters when she opens Kara’s office door and finds her sitting behind her desk, her hair scraped into her signature ponytail and glasses perched on her nose, wearing a blue blouse that Cat’s never seen her in before.

“Kara,” she breathes, taking a hesitant step towards the other woman and letting the door shut behind her. “You’re okay.”

“Of course I’m okay, Miss Grant. Why wouldn’t I be?” The words, along with the little frown of confusion on Kara’s face, are like a bucket of cold water over her head, draining her hope away because this, this stranger staring at her through Kara’s blue, blue eyes… this isn’t Kara.

This is whatever imposter was flying around National City last night draped in a cape that didn’t belong to them.

This wasn’t _her_ Kara.

A look crosses not-Kara’s face that Cat can’t decipher before it’s smoothed away, and she opens her mouth to say something but Cat cuts her off with a wave of her hand, forcing a smile that she knows doesn’t reach her eyes.

“I noticed you weren’t around yesterday afternoon – Snapper said you weren’t feeling well,” Cat lies. “Just wanted to check you weren’t spreading your germs around my bullpen.”

With that Cat turns on her heel and leaves, stalking back to her office and wondering what the hell she’s going to do _now_.

She checks her phone but Kara still hasn’t called, and she’s all set to dust off her investigative skills and find out where the mysterious DEO base that Kara’s mentioned a couple of times is located before Eve waves her down with an emergency at the Tribune that Cat can’t ignore.

She’s just finishing up when a dark shadow appears across her desk, and there’s a pointed barb on her tongue about interrupting her without an appointment that dies on her lips when she glances up into the face of none other than Alex Danvers.

She looks _furious_ , her jaw tight and her eyes dark and hard, intimidating in her DEO gear and there’s an FBI badge in her hand that she’d no doubt waved in order to make her way into Cat’s office without being challenged.

Over Alex’s shoulder, Cat sees the Kara imposter hovering in the doorway, and every single pair of eyes in the bullpen looking into her office.

Cat supposes that her employees thinking she’s under investigation from the FBI will be worth it if she finally gets her answers about Kara.

“Shall we talk somewhere more private?” Cat suggests, and for a moment she thinks Alex is going to disagree before she nods curtly and motions for Cat to lead the way.

She does, rising to her feet and stepping onto her balcony, sliding the door firmly shut after Alex and not-Kara follow her out into the warm morning air.

“How long have you been sleeping with my sister?” Alex asks as soon as the door closes, whirling towards Cat in a cloud of anger that almost makes her take a step back.

“I don’t know what you’re - ”

“Don’t lie to me,” Alex hisses, before she reaches out and presses Cat back against the wall, hard enough to make her wince. Alex leans her weight against her, strong and solid, her eyes wild, and Cat thinks she’s probably lucky that there isn’t a hand wrapped around her throat.

“Alex.” Not-Kara appears at Alex’s elbow, a warning note in her voice and Cat hates it, turns towards the imposter with her most venomous glare.

“Stop using her voice,” she snaps, words dripping with poison, and both Alex and the imposter look taken aback. “And her face. You don’t deserve to wear it.”

“Very well.” Alex releases her hold as the imposter steps away, and Cat blinks when Kara’s form transforms into a very different one. “J’onn J’onzz.”

“You were here the night that Livewire attacked me,” Cat remembers. “You’re an alien, too?” He nods. “Are - ”

“You don’t get to ask question when you still haven’t answered mine,” Alex interrupts angrily. “You and my sister. How. Long.” The question is spat through gritted teeth, and Cat gets the impression that it’s going to take her a very long time to win over the sister.

“A few weeks,” Cat replies, pushing herself away from the wall she’d been backed against and dropping onto one of her outdoor sofas. Alex follows behind her like a shadow, like she’s afraid that Cat is somehow going to disappear.

“And I suppose it was your idea to keep it a secret? Didn’t want anyone finding out you were dipping your pen in the company ink? Dating a lowly reporter?” Alex’s tone is acidic, and Cat wonders just how many stories Alex had heard from her sister about Cat being an impossible boss when Kara was her assistant.

She feels a twinge of regret, like she always does whenever she thinks back to those days, but it had been her way of keeping Kara at arm’s length, at stopping herself falling too far and doing something stupid like jeopardising both of their careers.

And she’s remorseful about their past, has since apologised profusely for it, and Kara had forgiven her – she didn’t owe Alex Danvers any of that.

“It was a mutual decision,” Cat replies coldly, staring Alex dead in the eye. “We _both_ decided to keep things quiet while it was new. Maybe Kara was afraid how her judgemental sister would react.” Alex’s lips curl into a sneer, and Cat _swears_ that one of her hands jumps towards the gun at her hip, but the motion’s stopped by J’onn as he settles a hand heavily on Alex’s shoulder.

Cat wonders if he’s holding Alex against the seat so she doesn’t lunge towards her.

“Ladies, I don’t think Kara would be very happy if she knew the two of you were at each other’s throats,” J’onn reasons, and Cat feels a flash of guilt as Alex looks contrite. “She’d want you to get along.”

“Is she still alive?” Cat finally voices the question she’s been too scared to ask, and Cat doesn’t take another breath until Alex gives a curt nod.

“Barely, but yeah, she’s hanging in there.” It doesn’t fill her with as much relief as she’d like, because Kara’s clearly not out of the woods yet, but at least she’s still breathing.

“Can I see her?”

“That depends.” Alex stares at Cat for one long moment, sizing her up. “You gonna out her as Supergirl?”

“Oh, please,” Cat rolls her eyes. “I’ve known she was Supergirl since practically the moment she put on that cape. If I didn’t expose her then, I’m sure as hell not going to do it now that I’m dating her.”

“Why not? Dating a superhero’s sure to get you on the front page, and we all know how much you like the limelight.” She knows that Alex is merely pushing for a reaction, but Cat still bristles at the words.

“Your sister is more important to me than being on the front page,” Cat scoffs. “And contrary to what you might believe – I’m not an idiot. I know that dating Supergirl publically would put a target on not only my back, but my son’s, too. If you don’t believe that I’d do anything to protect Kara, know that I would do anything to protect him.”

“I believe you,” Alex says, after a few moments of loaded silence. “But if, for whatever reason, you have a change of heart – you won’t live to regret it.” Alex’s smile is sickly sweet, but Cat knows that she means the threat beneath it.

“So can I see her?”

“Come with me.” Cat goes, holding her head up high as she goes, whispering to Eve on the way past to cancel everything for the rest of the day and to tell James that he’s temporarily in charge, and ignoring the curious eyes of her employees as she follows Alex to the elevator.

On the street below she’s bundled into the back of a van, and mutters angrily about the indignity of it all as Alex and J’onn settle in on either side of her, a nameless third agent pulling onto the road as soon as the door shuts behind them.

“I feel like I’m being kidnapped.”

“Just be glad we didn’t blindfold you,” Alex shoots back, and Cat has to bite her tongue to stop herself snapping at the other woman.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Hasn’t stopped you before,” Alex mutters, and as she runs a tired hand through her hair Cat gets a glimpse of the woman beneath the government agent persona she wears like a shield. She sees a woman worried sick about her little sister, sees a woman who feels like she’s _failed_ her sister, a woman who probably won’t sleep until Kara wakes up, who resents having to leave Kara’s side to come and deal with Cat.

“How did you know? That Kara and I were together?” She supposes it could have been the dozens of phonecalls, or maybe they knew that Cat had visited Kara’s apartment last night, but it was quite a jump from that to figuring out they were in a relationship.

“He can read minds,” she Alex replies, stabbing a thumb in J’onn’s direction, who looks a little sheepish.

“He can _what_?” Cat interrupts, eyes widening and anger coiling in her stomach. “You read my mind? Without my permission? That’s a gross invasion of privacy, practically a _violation_ how _dare_ you - ”

“In my defence,” J’onn interrupts weakly, putting his palms up, “I didn’t _mean_ to. But you were projecting your emotions so strongly that it… well, it was impossible for me not to catch a glimpse and once I did and learned of your connection to Kara… I had to dig a little deeper, find out what you knew. For her protection.” Cat is stunned, feels sick at the thought of someone rooting around in her brain, rifling through her thoughts, tainting the private memories that she and Kara shared. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry.” His voice is soft, and he _does_ look apologetic. “And I’m sorry about the interrogation, too. I know that you care for her deeply.”

“I just wasn’t so sure,” Alex adds. “I wanted to see it for myself, see how the woman who treated my little sister like dirt for two years could turn into someone she wanted to be with.” Cat winces, but she doesn’t deny it, knows she can’t.

“And what _did_ you see?” Cat asks, curious, even though a part of her is afraid of the answer, knows that Alex’s opinion of her will matter, somewhere down the line, even if Kara has forgiven her.

Alex studies Cat for a long moment before she replies.

“I saw someone trying to pretend that she was fine, but below the surface was absolutely terrified. I saw someone who couldn’t sleep last night because she worried about my sister, worried enough to call her thirty times, who knows her well enough to realise when she’s not herself, who cares about her and would do anything to protect her. And I… I’m glad she has that. So don’t fuck it up.”

“Or I won’t live to see another day?”

“Something like that,” Alex smirks, and Cat doesn’t remember the last time she ever felt intimidated by anyone, but Alex Danvers is getting pretty close.

The car pulls to a stop then, and Cat climbs out into a parking garage and is quickly led to a nearby elevator.

“Am I allowed to know where I am?”

“Nope.” Alex leans one shoulder against the wall as they whizz up the floors.

“What if I want to visit Kara?”

“I’ll come kidnap you again.”

“How charming.” Out of the corner of her eye, she sees J’onn’s lips twitch in amusement. The elevator doors ding open a moment later, and Alex grips Cat’s arm and pulls her close.

“If anything about this facility ends up in the next issue of the Trib - ”

“You’ll make my life a living hell, smother me in my sleep, yadda yadda yadda,” Cat yanks her arm out of Alex’s grip, and the agent looks impressed by her strength. “I got the memo. I’m here as Kara’s girlfriend, not a reporter.”

Alex looks pleased by the answer, nods to herself before stepping out onto the bustling floor, and Cat follows close behind her, ignoring the curious looks that get thrown their way.

Cat tries not to look around too much, lest Alex accuse her of gathering intel, keeps her gaze focused solely on Alex’s back. She’s led through a set of doors and the noise dies down, the air smelling sterile, and she risks a glance around her to see that they’re in what looks to be a medical bay.

“Kara’s in there.” Alex tilts her head towards the door they’re standing in-front of. “Before you go in, you should know… she doesn’t look great. She’s broken and she’s bruised and she looks worse than you’ve ever seen her look before. We’ve got her under a sun lamp to try and help her recover, so you can’t really touch her, but you can talk to her, let her know that you’re here. She might be so shocked I let you in that she’ll wake right up.” Cat manages a faint smile, and Alex reaches out to squeeze her hand. “It looks bad, and it _is_ bad, but she’s gonna pull through. She’s strong.”

“The strongest person I know.”

“You ready?” Cat nods, and Alex presses the door open to let Cat step inside. Her breath catches when she sees Kara, lying still on the hospital bed within, the only sign that she’s alive the slow rise and fall of her chest and the rhythmic beeping of the machine she’s hooked up to. Even under the yellow light she looks pale and sickly, half her face covered by black and blue bruises.

“Oh, Kara.” She’s so preoccupied by Kara’s frail form that she doesn’t even notice that there’s another woman in the room sitting at Kara’s bedside, and as she turns at the sound of the door Cat recognises Kara’s foster mother. 

“Mom, I didn’t realise you were here already.”

“Kal-El came to get me,” Eliza replies, eyeing Cat warily. “He just left.”

“You remember Cat Grant, right?” Alex asks, nudging Cat forward.

“Of course I do,” Eliza nods, eyebrows pulling into a frown. “But that doesn’t explain what she’s doing here.”

“She and Kara are…”

“In a relationship,” Cat supplies, because she’s not entirely sure what Alex is going to end that sentence with. Eliza’s eyes widen in surprise, and Cat sighs. “This isn’t exactly how I imagined the whole family finding out.”

“It’s not how I imagined I’d meet my daughter’s first girlfriend, either,” Eliza says, after she’s gotten over the shock. “But we can talk later. I’m sure you’d like to spend some time with her.” Cat nods, and Eliza climbs to her feet. “Alex and I will be outside if you need anything.”

The door opens and shuts, and Cat’s left alone, the room silent aside from the machines.

She makes her way over to Kara on unsteady legs, sinks down onto the chair Eliza had just vacated, and lets out a long breath as she takes in the sight of her half-dead girlfriend.

It’s shocking, to see her like this – Kara is always so animated, so full of life, always moving even if she was just fiddling with her glasses or her hands.

But now she’s so still, so _quiet_ , so far away from the woman Cat knows that it shakes her to the core.

She’d known Kara was in a bad way but to _see_ it, to see her like this… it’s something else entirely.

Kara’s hand lies outside the glow of the sun lamp, and Cat reaches out to take it between her own, fingers shaking as she runs her thumb across Kara’s skin.

She’s warm, at least, and the steady beat of her pulse in her wrist reassures Cat that she’s still fighting.

“I don’t ever want you to scare me like this again,” Cat tells her, blinking back the tears that threaten to fall. “Do you hear me? You need to be _careful_ , Kara, because I can’t… I can’t lose you. It’s taken us so long to get to where we are today, to have that snatched away before we even get started? That’s cruel, Kara. You wouldn’t do that to me, would you? Although I suppose you could say I deserve it.” She sighs, and squeezes Kara’s hand gently between her own. “That I don’t deserve you, because god, Kara, I don’t. You’re a better person than I’ll ever be, but for some god unknown reason you want me, and I’m not letting you go.”

Her gaze rests on Kara’s face, her eyes closed and she’d look almost peaceful, if not for the bruises. Cat wants to kiss each and every one of them away.

“So you’d better come back to me, Kara Zor-El. Because I don’t know how to do this without you, not now. Not now that I know what we could have. That I could fall in love again.” Her voice cracks, and the tears start to fall, building faster than she can wipe them away.

It’s unimaginable, the thought of losing her. It’s only been a few weeks, but it’s been the happiest few weeks of her life, and Kara has been a part of her life for so much longer than that, and Cat honestly doesn’t know what she’d do without her.

She doesn’t ever want to find out.

She sits there a while longer, until the tears have dried on her cheeks, until she can’t stand to see Kara looking so ill for another second.

In the hallway outside, Alex is asleep on Eliza’s shoulder, and the elder woman smiles up at Cat as she closes the door to Kara’s room quietly behind her.

“I hope Alex wasn’t too hard on you earlier,” Eliza whispers. “She’s a little protective of Kara. Always has been.”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Cat’s never been good at the meet-the-parents stage of a relationship, not when the one she shares with her own mother is so strained, and she feels uncharacteristically nervous as Eliza looks up at her. “Could you thank her, when she wakes up? For bringing me here?”

“Of course.” Cat tucks her hands into the pockets of her jacket and wonders if she needs an escort to get out of the building as well as in. “I know we’re not meeting under the best of circumstances, but I’m glad that Kara’s found someone.”

“Even if I’m old enough to be her mother?”

“Age is just a number,” Eliza shrugs, careful not to wake her sleeping daughter. “As long as she’s happy, I’m happy. And I’d love to have you over for dinner, once she’s feeling better.”

“I’d like that.” Cat manages a small smile at the thought.

“Oh, before I forget, Alex wanted me to give you these.” Eliza hands Cat a lanyard and a post-it with GPS co-ordinates scribbled on it. “A visitor pass, so you can come and go whenever you please, at least while Kara’s recovering. And the address.” Cat feels a rush of gratitude, feels more tears gather in her eyes and blinks them hastily away. “Come back whenever you like.”

“Thank you.”

//

Cat visits at least once a day.

Sometimes twice – once in the morning before she goes to the office, and always after she’s finished for the day. Sometimes she brings her tablet and carries on working, talking to Kara as she does, drawing comfort from just being close to her.

Every day, the bruises fade a little more, broken bones start to set, and pale skin gains a little more colour.

It’s an agonisingly slow recovery for someone who should be unbreakable, but at least she’s getting better.

That’s what Cat tells herself, anyway, when the tears threaten to overwhelm her as she looks down at Kara’s motionless body.

That with every passing day, Kara grows stronger, heals more, and is one step closer to opening her eyes.

It takes nearly two weeks, but eventually it happens.

It’s two a.m., and Cat’s in a fitful sleep (she hasn’t slept through the night since the day Kara fell from the sky, sees it every night in her dreams, knows she won’t be able to truly rest until the other woman is curled up in bed beside her) when her phone rings.

She groans as she runs a hand over her face, reaching for her phone and looking at the screen with bleary eyes.

When she sees that it’s Alex calling she sits bolt upright in bed, because Alex wouldn’t call unless it was serious, unless something was _wrong_ , and no, no, no, it’s not possible for Kara to slip away in the middle of the night, not after she’d spent so long fighting against it.

“Alex?” Cat’s voice is strangled, tight with worry. “What’s wrong?”

_“Nothing’s wrong, Cat.”_ Cat hears the sheer relief in the other woman’s voice, the underlying note of happiness, and for the first time in days, feels a twinge of hope. _“She’s awake.”_ Cat presses a hand against her lips to smother a sob, overwhelmed by the flood of emotion that rushes through her at the words. _“And she’s asking for you.”_

“I’m on my way.”

_“I already sent a car for you,”_ Alex says, and Cat is filled with gratitude for the other woman – they’d spent a lot of time together over the last two weeks, and had formed an unlikely almost-friendship over the hours spent at Kara’s beside. _“It should be there in a couple of minutes.”_

“Thank you.” She pulls on the first clothes she can find, puts on the minimum amount of makeup she feels comfortable leaving the house in and runs a brush through her tangled hair before dashing for the elevator.

It takes what feels like an eternity to arrive, and the wait as it descends, floors ticking by one by one, is unbearable.

The car isn’t there when she reaches the sidewalk, and she taps her foot impatiently as she waits, barely letting it pull over before she’s tugging at the door.

It isn’t a long drive to the DEO’s city headquarters, but it feels like forever, and Cat is practically vibrating with the need to move by the time they get there, rushes away as soon as they’ve come to a stop.

She’s breathless by the time she reaches Kara’s room, steps through the open door and the only thing she sees is blue, blue eyes that crinkle in the corners when she meets Cat’s gaze, Kara’s smile so wide and so bright and so _alive_ that Cat nearly starts crying again.

Instead she flings herself at Kara, ignoring the other people in the room (Alex and Eliza and J’onn), wrapping her in a hug and burying her face in Kara’s shoulder.

“Ouch,” Kara says but she’s laughing, and her arms wrap around Cat’s back to bring her close. “Kinda fragile here, you know.”

“Sorry,” Cat replies, even though she’s anything but, and she leans back and cups Kara’s cheek, eyes scanning across her face and assessing the damage.

Kara looks surprisingly chipper for someone who’s been in a coma for two weeks, her cheeks red and her eyes bright, and Cat’s filled with more relief than she knows what to do with.

“I’m so happy you’re alive,” she whispers, thumb tracing Kara’s cheekbone, “but if you ever do anything like that to me again I’m going to kill you.” Kara grins, and it’s so beautiful that it makes Cat’s heart ache, and she knows that she’d missed Kara but she had no idea how _much_ , not until she had Kara in her arms again, so soft but strong and _awake_.

“I’m not planning on it,” Kara tells her, arm still slung around Cat’s back, keeping her close. “Trust me. I feel like I got hit by a train.”

“Actually,” Alex pipes up, arms folded across her chest as she leans her hip against Kara’s bed, looking more relaxed than Cat has ever seen her, “judging from the extent of your injuries, you probably got hit by the equivalent of about ten trains.”

“Gee, thanks, Alex.”

“You’re welcome.”

“There’s no lasting damage, is there?” Cat asks, because she knew they were waiting for Kara to wake up before they could really assess her injuries.

“Doesn’t seem to be,” Alex answers. “We won’t know for sure for another couple of days, but for now things are looking good.” Alex reaches out to squeeze Kara’s leg. “You were lucky.”

“None of you are ever going to let me out in the field again, are you?”

“Not until you’re healed,” they all say at the same time, and it’s the first time Cat has heard laughter echo around this room.

“Besides, J’onn’s loving putting on a skirt and flying around the city, aren’t you, J’onn?” He looks thoroughly unimpressed by Alex’s teasing. “See, look at that face. Loves it.”

“Did it _have_ to be a skirt, Kara?” He asks with a sigh. “Why couldn’t it be pants?”

“Hey, take it up with Winn, not me. He designed it.” J’onn grumbles to himself before making his excuses to leave, biding them all goodnight as he goes.

“We should probably get some rest too, Mom,” Alex says when he’s gone. “Give these two some time to catch up.”

When they’re alone, Kara shifts in the bed so there’s space beside her, tugs at Cat until she’s lying carefully next to her. Cat rests her head on Kara’s chest and wraps an arm around her waist, just breathing her in, and doesn’t realise she’s crying until Kara gently tilts her head up and swipes away her tears with her thumb.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I’m just… I can’t believe you’re awake.” She sniffs, and hopes Kara doesn’t think she’s pathetic. “I really thought I was going to lose you.”

“But you didn’t,” Kara is quick to reassure her, taking one of Cat’s hands and resting it over her heart. “See? Still here. Not going anywhere if it involves being away from you.” Kara’s heartbeat is steady, familiar, and Cat draws comfort from it.

“Are you in pain?”

“Only a little. It’s not so bad.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“Having you here makes it better.” Kara pulls Cat close, presses a kiss against her lips that’s achingly gentle. “Can you stay?”

“If you want me to.”

“Carter?”

“He’s at his father’s.” Kara hums, and Cat shifts so that they’re face to face, pressing her forehead against Kara’s.

“Speaking of family…” Kara trails off, and Cat hears her swallow. “You met my sister and my foster Mom like, officially? How was that? Cause I know we were supposed to be taking things slow, and no-one was supposed to know, and I guess I messed that up, but – why are you smiling at me like that?”

“Because I’ve missed this.”

“Missed what?”

“Your nervous rambling.” Kara pouts, and Cat wipes it away with a kiss. “Your sister threatened to murder me if I ever hurt you, but aside from that, it was fine. I think we’re friends now. And Eliza wants to have me over for dinner.”

“So you charmed the whole family, huh?”

“I _am_ very charming.” Kara grins before kissing her again until they’re both breathless. When they part Kara’s eyes stay closed, and Cat pokes her in the side until she opens them. “You have been asleep for two weeks – you can’t seriously be tired.”

“I need to rest!” Kara protests, and Cat laughs as she settles down beside her. “And so do you. Alex told me you’ve been worried sick about me, hardly sleeping.”

“I couldn’t stop seeing it, whenever I closed my eyes. You falling.”

“But I’m okay. I’m okay, and I’m right here.” Kara shifts, pushing at Cat’s hip until she rolls over before pulling Cat’s back against her chest and slinging an arm around her waist to hold her close. “I’m not going anywhere,” she says it again, with a soft kiss to Cat’s shoulder. “I promise.” Kara’s breath is warm against her ear, soft and even, and Cat can feel the other woman’s heartbeat against her back, strong and steady, and she closes her eyes.

There, in that tiny hospital bed with the lumpy mattress, wrapped Kara’s arms, Cat has the best night’s sleep she can remember having in a long, long time.


End file.
